Childish Whims
by SkyGem
Summary: Everyone knows that in order to commission the number one hitman in the world for a kill, you must first win over his master, the one he's sworn his eternal loyalty to. However, when said master is an unimpressed 6-year-old who would rather be out playing with his friends, such a feat can be easier said than done. No pairings.
1. Target 1: The New Bodyguard

Summary: Everyone knows that in order to commission the number one hitman in the world for a kill, you must first win over his master, the one he's sworn his eternal loyalty to. However, when said master is an unimpressed 6-year-old who would rather be out playing with his friends, such a feat can be easier said than done.

* * *

It was obvious from the moment Sawada Tsunayoshi was born, that he would one day take over the Vongola.

Maybe it was his startling resemblance to Vongola Primo, or maybe it was his worryingly high base body temperature, as if his sky flames were full to the brim and bursting to come out. Or maybe it was simply that none of Vongola Nono's sons wanted to take over after their father.

Either way, Tsuna was always destined for greatness, and that made him a target.

And given that his parents and even his "grandfather" insisted he should be able to have as normal a childhood as possible, Tsuna's safety was, quite predictably, and ongoing concern.

Seventeen bodyguards had come and gone by Tsuna's fourth birthday, each of them fired either for an appalling lack of competence, or because Tsuna thought they were meanie doodooheads.

And one, the asshole, actually decided that there was no such thing as a threat to Tsuna's life and left him alone while on duty. Tsuna didn't get to deal with this one; he walked himself right out, ashamed at himself for not taking his duty seriously, when his ward was kidnapped in the twenty seconds he'd had his back turned.

This incident, in fact, had happened just three days before Tsuna opened the door to find a besuited man standing tall on his doorstep, fedora throwing the top half of his face into shadow. He seemed to loom over Tsuna, imposing without seemingly trying to be.

Tsuna looked up at him with wide, serious eyes.

"You must be the new bodyguard then," he said, crossing his arms. "They told me you'd be arriving tomorrow."

The man looked down, tilting his head to the side the _slightest_ bit, an action that seemed, to a four-year-old's sharp eyes, to communicate surprise.

Bowing deeply, Tsuna said in as mature a voice as he could muster, "I will be in your care from now on."

Coming out of his bow, Tsuna noticed the corners of the man's lips tug upwards into the ghost of a smile.

"I look forward to working with you," replied the man in smooth, slightly accented Japanese, his voice pleasant and deep.

Tsuna perked up, pleasantly surprised – most of his bodyguards were foreigners (as this man seemed to be), and didn't usually know about Japanese manners and etiquette.

Stepping to the side, Tsuna gestured the man inside, requesting, "Please take off your shoes." This man may know more about Japan than the others, but it was still better to be safe than sorry – Tsuna knew his mother wouldn't like it if her pretty, clean carpets had dirt tracked all over them.

Tsuna was rather enjoying playing the host – it made him feel rather grown up. Usually it was his parents welcoming the guests, but since his mother was still out shopping and his father was in the shower, it was up to him.

Doing as told, the man exchanged his shoes for a pair of indoor slippers the Sawadas reserved for guests.

"I apologize for intruding," the stranger replied as he stepped out of the foyer, and Tsuna felt his lips pull into a wide smile as he hurried to close the door and follow after the man.

"You're more com-pi-tant than the others," he said with a giggle, smiling widely up at his companion.

The man chuckled.

"That's quite an impressive vocabulary you have there, child," he purred, resting a hand on Tsuna's head.

Tsuna grinned even brighter at that.

"Thank you! That's how my bodyguards usually talk to me so I learned it from them," he said with another giggle, grabbing at the man's fingers, and swinging their joined hands back and forth as he led the guest to their living room. "So, what's your name?" he asked the man. "You probably already know my name."

"I do, Tsunayoshi-kun," replied the man with a rumbling laugh. "My name is Reborn."

* * *

Iemitsu knew about Reborn's arrival from the very moment he set foot in the house, from the way his bloodlust washed through the whole residence, causing a shiver of dread to crawl up his spine.

In theory, Reborn shouldn't be a threat to Tsuna – he was here to discuss with Iemitsu a hit that Nono had commissioned from him after all. But despite his favour towards the Vongola Family, Reborn was still an unaffiliated hitman, and therefore couldn't be counted upon with their heir's safety.

So while Iemitsu didn't go into full battle mode the moment he noticed the hitman's presence in his home, he did hurry to finish his shower as fast as possible and get some clothes on so he could go to his son's side.

In all honesty, Iemitsu wasn't quite sure what he expected to find once he reached the first floor. Maybe he expected to see Reborn sitting on one corner of the sofa with Tsuna sitting across from him, watching him warily.

Instead, he stepped into the living room to find Reborn kneeling in front of his four-year-old son, one pudgy hand held in his own rough, calloused ones. He could only watch, horrified, as the hitman's words registered in his mind.

"-do hereby pledge my loyalty to Sawada Tsunayoshi, heir to the Vongola Famiglia of Italy. By the flames of the sun I pledge, to be loyal only to my sky – to support and protect him so far as it is within my power, so long as we both shall live. Do you, Sawada Tsunayoshi, accept my vow?"

And then, before Iemitsu could make any move to stop them, the words "I do" had spilled from his son's lips, and with a swirl of sun and sky flames, the vow was sealed.

"Tsuna," he wheezed, the breath knocked clean out of him and the implications of what he had just witnessed. "What have you done?"

"Dad!" exclaimed Tsuna, turning to him with his lips stretched into an impossibly wide grin, his hand still gripped in Reborn's much larger one. "Look! My new bodyguard is here! And he's WAY cooler than all the other ones!"

Over his head, Reborn was watching Iemitsu, a sly grin turning up the corners of his mouth.

"Your bodyguard?" asked Iemitsu, voice faint. "But he's-"

"I know I'm a little early, Iemitsu, but that's no reason for you to look so upset," said Reborn, standing up. Tsuna still didn't let go of his hand. "Perhaps you should go call Timoteo now? I'm sure he'll be glad to know that his young heir has someone to protect him again."

* * *

SkyGem: That's it for this chapter! This fic won't be long, maybe 4 or 5 chapters, but I hope you guys will look forward to it! It's something Bleach-ed-Na-tsu and I have been talking about for a while now and I'm way glad I finally got a chance to write it out! Please do leave a review and let me know what you thought, yeah? And give Natsu some love too! She helped me out so so much in writing this chapter whenever I got stuck, and some of the lines in here came straight from her. Anyways, I'll see you all next time!

P.S. For those of you who don't follow me on tumblr or who may not have seen my posts yet, Natsu and I will be at Anime North all weekend, and we'll be attending the KHR panel tomorrow, so if any of you all are attending, make sure to keep an eye out for us ;)


	2. Target 2: First Meetings

"Timoteo you _need_ to do something about him."

Timoteo sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose at the sound of his disgruntled external advisor curt and unhappy over the phone.

" _What_ do you want me to do?" he asked, leaning back in his desk chair and waving away Coyote's inquiring glance from his own spot across the room.

"Make him **stop**. You **must** see how absurd this all is?"

Timoteo's lips turned down in disapproval.

"And how do you propose I do that, old friend? If you'll remember, _I'm_ not the one he swore his loyalty to. He has no need to listen to a word I say."

"He's listened to you in the past!" growled Iemitsu, and Timoteo could hear the faint rustle of his clothes and the stomp of his feet as he started pacing.

"Yes. He's listened to me as a friend and an equal, and has made his own decisions. Don't confuse favour for obedience, Iemitsu. You know as well as I do that Reborn has never followed anyone's order but his own."

Iemitsu snorted. "Until he met my son, you mean."

Timoteo nodded in assent. "Until he met your son," he agreed, thinking back to the last time his surrogate grandson had come for a visit, a perfectly pleasant Reborn in tow. The hitman had spent the entire visit playing the part of the dutiful bodyguard, never letting his charge out of his sight. The two had been practically attached at the hip, and Timoteo knew how much it must grate at Iemitsu to see all that utter adoration from his son directed at another man.

"He has to be planning something," growled Iemitsu. "How could he think this is a good idea? Does he have any idea how easily this could go wrong?"

Timoteo was silent for a moment.

"I'm sure he knows better than anyone the dangers of this stunt. The only question now is what he hopes to get out of it."

* * *

"Stop fidgeting so much. You'll crease your suit."

"But Reboooooorn!"

Rolling his eyes heavenwards, Reborn kissed his teeth.

Three months since he had bound himself to the little monster sitting next to him, and while he hadn't once regretted it, being a glorified nanny was far more trying on one's patience than he had expected. Especially when one's charge was a child as stubborn and bull-headed as young Sawada Tsunayoshi.

Leaning over, he smacked Tsuna's hands away from his collar, where he was fidgeting with his little tie. Ignoring the scowl from the four-year-old, Reborn fussed over him for a minute, straightening his tie and loosening it just a tad, so it wasn't quite so tight.

"Remember our promise this morning?" asked Reborn, glancing up a second to meet Tsuna's eyes.

Turning his face away with a pout, Tsuna kissed his teeth, and Reborn had to take a moment to make sure he didn't laugh. It was a habit the child had picked up from him within a month of the two of them becoming acquainted, and it only added to the his precociousness. Tsuna didn't say anything else for a moment, but when Reborn only let the silence grow and grow, the child finally gave in.

"We can go out for ice cream later, but _only_ if I'm a good boy."

"That's right," answered Reborn, finally deciding Tsuna looked presentable enough, just as their limo pulled into the driveway of an enormous mansion.

"You have _**got**_ to be kidding me!" growled a third voice, and Reborn's eyes slid over to where two CEDEF agents were sitting across from them, both looking out the window with disbelieving expressions on their faces.

The one who had spoken, a tall, lean woman named Paprika, turned a glare on Reborn.

"You couldn't have _told_ us this was the Family we would be meeting with?"

Reborn quirked an eyebrow, his lips pulling into a sly smile. "And ruin all the fun?" he asked.

Her lips pursed into a thin line, and Reborn only smiled wider as her eyes narrowed.

"What _fun_?" she growled. "Do you have any idea how much of my time you've wasted with this little stunt of yours? Do you _know_ how much work I have to do?"

He shrugged. "Listen, I _told_ your boss I would be enough to protect Tsuna during this meeting. It's not my fault he didn't listen."

And with that, he opened the door of the limo and stepped out, Tsuna hopping out right after him a moment later, landing with a light tap of his feet on the pavement. Setting off in the direction of the mansion, Reborn smirked as he heard the door of the limo slam closed without the two CEDEF officers getting out. Moments later, it peeled down the driveway, probably in the direction of the CEDEF HQ.

As they walked, Tsuna reached up to wrap his tiny fingers around Reborn's, and the hitman was pleased to see it was the only sign of his discomfort he showed. Tsuna's face was set in a sombre expression, his eyes wide and serious.

He stayed closer to Reborn than usual as they were met at the doors of the mansion by a civilian servant. Looking up at the man with wary curiosity, Tsuna was matched stare for stare, none of the mansion's staff quite grasping who the child was.

Reborn kept quiet, finding the whole situation rather amusing.

When the trio finally arrived at the doors to the Don's office, the servant excused himself with a bow.

Giving Tsuna's hand one final, reassuring squeeze with his fingers, Reborn reached up to knock.

Tsuna stepped closer to his Reborn, virtually hiding behind his legs.

But when the door to the office opened, they were met with a warm smile and happy brown eyes.

Tsuna felt something within him loosen at the sight of the man, with his fine blond hair brushed back, and the crow's feet spreading from the corners of his eyes. This man could be trusted.

Reborn brushed his fingers lightly through Tsuna's hair, his smile friendly, but full of teeth as he greeted their host.

"It's a pleasure to see you again, Don Chiavarone."

* * *

SkyGem: The end! For this chapter at least XD But wow, can I just say I'm completely blown away by the response this fic has gotten so far? 70 reviews and 400 favs, just on the first chapter? Y'all are far too nice to me. I really hope you enjoyed this chapter, and please do leave a review letting me know what you thought, yes?

P.S. Natsu and I had tons of fun at anime north, though it was such a shame we didn't get to meet any of you T^T The KHR panel and photoshoot were both awesome…though apparently I'm the only one who likes Naito. Seriously? Why y'all gotta hate on my son?


	3. Target 3: Of Grasshoppers and Playmates

Don Chiavarone was awful skinny.

Tsuna was sat in plush, high-backed chair that was so soft he felt like he was drowning, in front of a table that he could just barely see over, listening to Reborn and the Don talk about something that sounded _really very important_.

And Tsuna knew he _probably_ should be paying attention.

After all, that was why Reborn had brought him here in the first place, right?

But no matter how hard he tried, the only thing Tsuna could focus on was just how _skinny_ the Don looked. His legs were long and thin, and kind of reminded Tsuna of a grasshopper.

Though, if Tsuna were really being fair, he had to admit the Don wasn't any skinnier than Reborn was. But he _was_ a lot taller, which made him look thinner.

Maybe he wasn't eating enough. Tsuna wondered if maybe he could invite the Don home to eat his mom's cooking.

"-think, Tsuna?"

Suddenly snapped out of his daze, Tsuna whipped is head around to look at his bodyguard.

"I'm sorry?" he asked.

Reborn raised a thin eyebrow, not seeming the least bit surprised that Tsuna hadn't been paying attention.

Tsuna smiled sheepishly, shrugging his shoulders slightly.

With a huff and a roll of his eyes, Reborn leaned forward, hand going out to straighten Tsuna's collar.

"Don Chiavarone's son, Dino, needs a tutor," Reborn started, fingers combing through Tsuna's bangs a few times to tame them into some semblance of order. He smacked the child's cheek lightly before he pulled away, a warning to not get distracted again. Tsuna looked down with a pout – it hadn't hurt, but he always hated being reprimanded. He hated the idea that he'd disappointed Reborn.

"He wants me to train Dino."

Tsuna's eyes fluttered up in surprise to stare at Reborn, whose expression was carefully schooled.

"What do you think?" asked the hitman, expression not giving anything away.

Tsuna thought for a moment, trying to figure out what the right answer was here, what Reborn wanted him to say.

"I…I want to play with him," he decided after a moment – he wasn't sure if that was what Reborn had wanted, but something told him it was what he _needed_ to do here.

Don Chiavarone's eyes lit up, and he leaned forward with a smile.

"Of course," he said, quick to agree, before gesturing for one of the guards standing by the door. "He should be with his maths tutor right now, but I'm sure taking one day off shouldn't be too bad. Mikhail can take you to him."

Tsuna didn't move, looking back up at Reborn for approval.

The hitman gave a barely perceptible nod, before his eyes flew to the bodyguard, and his lips pulled into a smile full of teeth. He got out of his chair all lazy and confident, his movements unhurried, and flung an arm around Mikhail's neck, startling the man with his friendliness.

Reborn's voice was perfectly amicable as he said, "I am trusting you to take care of my sky. If he has so much as a single scratch on him when I get him back, you will find your face very nicely acquainted with a brick!"

Mikhail was smiling politely and nodding along for a few seconds, before Reborn's words finally registered, and he froze.

"Am I understood?" asked Reborn, as mildly as if he were commenting on the weather.

Mikhail nodded once, voice stiff as he answered, "Understood."

"Good man," replied Reborn, patting him once on the shoulder before letting go and smiling down at his ward. "Just call if you need me, tesoro. I will come to you no matter what."

"Hai!" replied Tsuna, nodding and grinning toothily up at Reborn. Then, pivoting around on one foot, he skipped over and grabbed Mikhail's fingers and began tugging him out of the room.

Mikhail just let himself be dragged, throwing one last, worried look over his shoulder at Reborn, whose piercing gaze remained unwavering right up until the door closed behind them.

Mikhail tried not to hide the chill that crawled up his spine – the hitman's very presence was absolutely terrifying, even when he was here as an ally; Mikhail dreaded to think what it must feel like to be his target.

No sane individual could be expected not to quail before him.

…Well, no one other than the Vongola's four-year-old heir, apparently.

Mikhail watched the child warily out of the corner of his eye, wondering just how the child could be so absolutely comfortable in Reborn's presence.

…Or how he had even managed to win Reborn's loyalty in the first place, for that matter.

There didn't seem to be anything particularly astounding about the cherubic four-year-old. Well, other than how completely sweet and harmless he managed to make himself seem, despite the constant caress of sky flames that seemed to roll off him in waves.

The child chose that moment to smile up at Mikhail, eyes closing in pleasure, and cute dimples appearing on chubby cheeks.

He would, undoubtedly, grow up to be a terrifying man someday, and Mikhail found himself fervently grateful that the Chiavarone were allied with the family this monster of a child would one day be taking over.

* * *

Dino was sitting at his desk doing his maths work as his tutor, Mira, watched over his shoulder as usual, when suddenly there came a knock on the door to his study.

Lips pursed and eyebrows drawing together in disapproval, Mira straightened up to go answer the door, and Dino set down his pencil with a relieved sigh, glad of the reprieve.

He watched curiously as Mira opened the door, to reveal Mikhail standing there, with a four-year-old clutching his fingers with tiny hands, and peering curiously into the room.

When his eyes met Dino's, the child smiled sweetly up at him, and Dino couldn't help but smile back, despite his confusion.

"Well?" asked Mira curtly, and though her back was turned, Dino could imagine easily the impatience that would mar her features.

"The young master's lessons are to be postponed," said Mikhail. "Nono wishes for Dino to entertain our young guest here."

Dino perked up in interest at these words – if his father wanted him to keep this child company so badly his lessons were to be postponed, the child must be someone important. Although try as he might, Dino couldn't think who the kid might be. He didn't look Italian, which was the real confusing part – as far as Dino knew, their family didn't have any strong ties to the Japanese yakuza.

"And just who might our young guest be?" asked Mira, the disapproval colouring her voice proving that she didn't recognize the child either. And of course, in her mind, if she didn't recognize them, then obviously they mustn't be of very much importance.

The child, not noticing her tone, grinned brightly up at her, saying, "My name is Tsunayoshi Sawada! I am here with my hitman, Reborn!"

* * *

SkyGem: Yes Tsuna, because that is definitely a non-threatening way to introduce yourself XD I hope you guys enjoyed, and I'm so sorry it was so short! Please do leave a review and let me know what you thought!


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